Middle Eastern Magic Brewing in the Chicken Chick Kitchen

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The words “juicy” and “chicken” are not merely two words that should stand alone. Chicken Chick, a Mediterranean and Persian cuisine restaurant located in Gardena, California, combine the two words together as if soulmates, destined to be together with their juicy chicken meal.

The first bite into the bright orange, heaven sent dish, gives you an almost out of body experience as you taste the delectable juices and herbs the chicken is made with. The people who own and cook the food are Persian themselves, so they are experts in creating the tantalizing dishes in what seems to be a kitchen full of Middle Eastern magic. They marinate the chicken overnight in a bag filled with palatable seasonings, herbs and spices-even though the chicken itself is not spicy-yet it is still succulent enough to make you return ten more times if not, more. The first bite slides right off of the other, mimicking the rubbery effect of a hard-boiled egg’s shell, all but without the taste. The juices flow right onto your tongue like the Red Sea, as your teeth sink into the first bite like ships that sank during the Red Sea Wars.

To further confirm my taste buds’ suspicions of whether the food was made with fresh ingredients and none of that pre-packaged, artificially colored crap, like some fast food restaurants *cough cough* Taco Bell, uses; as I lean in for another bite of heaven, a man walks in with a fresh slab of some kind of red meat thrown over his shoulder, then only a few minutes later, with a fresh sack of onions-those of which they don’t shy away from.

The chicken wasn’t served alone, paired well with a garden house salad, the mini, thick cut cucumbers added the desired crunch those usually enjoy in a salad. The tangy dressing adds a kick of tinge and lemon, not too overwhelming, but still gets the job done, giving it just enough flavor.

If you’re an indecisive person like I am and can never choose just one side, you can always order the white rice on the side as well. While not being the most flavorful part of this meal, it will definitely help fill you up while you accompany each bite with a chunk of chicken.

This is a small, family owned, mom and pop restaurant, so the staff is very attentive, and the service-suffice. Regardless of the size and location, this eatery attracts people of all backgrounds and even incomes. From the broke, struggling college students who come across the street from El Camino, to the wealthy businessmen who travel in their 2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedans, (driven by a chauffeur of course). I observed two of these men on a lunch date as they somehow ate, scrolled through their phones (probably checking their schedules for their next meeting or if any of their stocks dropped) and discussed business, simultaneously. I figured this was a lifestyle for them and something they endured every week but wondered if they appreciated each bite of their dish as much as I did.